Tag Archives: Chiron

Weekly Forecast November 18: Chiron Direct, Sun Enters Sagittarius

Nymphs and Satyr, by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1873. OK, so this guy knows how to party, but you will never convince me that Sagittarius looks like this.

For the first week in nearly a month, we don’t have eclipses, retrogrades or serious squares to contend with. We’re still dealing with the aftermath, though.

The Full Moon in Taurus on November 17, which I covered in last week’s forecast, is the culmination of the astrologically charged solar eclipse on November 3. If nothing out of the ordinary happened in your life around that time or near the lunar eclipse on October 18, you may get the “message” this week. As usual, it depends on where these significant events fell in your natal chart.

Mercury gains speed this week, another indication that phone calls, e-mails, checks, and other matters on hold since mid-October could come through, possibly all at once, with the Moon in Mercury ruled Gemini on Monday and Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Chiron returns direct at 9 degrees Pisces. As you’ll recall, Chiron was discovered in 1977 and was the first of a new class of minor planets called centaurs, because their behavior is a sort of cross between that of asteroids and comets, just as the mythological centaurs were half-man, half-horse. For the most part, the centaurs were a wild bunch that partied hard, drank to excess, got in brawls, and made off with the village women. Chiron, however, had a different upbringing and became a wise healer and mentor to gods and heroes.

A big part of Chiron’s mythology revolves around a wound that wouldn’t heal. Emotionally, he was wounded by the rejection of his parents. Later, he was shot with a poison arrow and would have been doomed to eternal pain had he not asked to become mortal so he could die. According to ancient authors, he was placed in the sky as the constellation Centaurus, although some sources associate him with Sagittarius. In any case, astrologers began using minor planet Chiron as an indicator of our most fundamental wounds and where we have the greatest capacity to heal.

Pluto returned direct just shy of 9 degrees Capricorn in late September. When outer planets shift motion, they remain at the same degree for several weeks. For most of October and November, Chiron is in a sextile with Pluto by exact degree, and the two will remain at a close angle until Pluto turns retrograde again in April. Pluto is associated with death, regeneration, and rebirth. It’s not hard to see how the two working together can lead to a breakdown, followed by healing and rebirth or transformation. The sextile is considered a friendly aspect, but that doesn’t make the breakdown process any easier.

Plutonic forces are ruthlessly effective at destroying what is old, decaying, and corrupt. I’ve written a lot about this in terms of governments and civilization itself, primarily in the context of the ongoing square between Uranus and Pluto. The square was exact on November 1 but remains close through the end of December. Although we can notice transits of outer planets to planets in our individual natal charts (anyone who’s ever experienced an intense Pluto transit can attest to that), aspects between outer planets such as the Uranus-Pluto square tend to manifest as events that affect large groups of people and global affairs.

The favorable angle between Pluto and Chiron suggests that the breakdowns that have been occurring over the past several weeks – for example, the shutdown of the U.S. government and breakdown in President Obama’s signature healthcare program – could contain the seeds for deep healing. One can always hope.

On Wednesday (Mercury Day), Mercury forms a positive trine to Chiron and sextiles Pluto. At the very least, we should get some good news about the Affordable Care Act. The programmers working on the broken website may get a boost, too. The way also seems to be clear to resume negotiations in Geneva over Iran’s nuclear program. France threw a monkey wrench into the deal at the last minute just as Mercury was stationed to return direct on November 10. Mercury, as you know, rules negotiations. Uranus is associated with electricity and advanced technology, while Pluto heads the nuke department.

On Thursday, the Sun wraps up its journey through the dark sign of Scorpio and enters Sagittarius, the party sign. I rather like the idea that Sagittarius represents Chiron, since it borders Ophiuchus. The snake handler is said to be Asclepius, the first doctor, who received his medical training from Chiron. However, Chiron wasn’t the partying kind of centaur. Moreover, according to some ancient accounts, Sagittarius isn’t a centaur at all, but the satyr Crotus. Rather than being half-man, half-horse, a satyr is a man from the waist up and a goat from the waist down. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I could ever get the image out of my head of Sagittarius as a centaur with the bow and arrow. Crotus did hunt, and he cavorted with the muses on Mount Helicon. Jupiter, the ruling planet of Sagittarius, also had the reputation of being a great partier and womanizer.

Speaking of Jupiter, on Tuesday (Mars Day), there is a sextile from Mars in Virgo to Jupiter in Cancer. This is a day for getting a lot of work done and being productive in general. If you’re signing a real estate deal, this is a good day for understanding the fine print and renegotiating any terms you don’t like.

We have yet another sextile on Saturday (Saturn Day), this time between Venus and Saturn. It’s true that Saturn gets a bad rap, and it’s not entirely undeserved. He rains on parades, poops on parties, and delivers depressing reality checks. But Venus brings out his positive side, especially when she’s in his home sign of Capricorn. At his best, Saturn provides much needed structure, discipline, and commitment. It takes work to maintain relationships, the domain of Venus. Under this influence, you can do the work more easily. That applies to finances as well, which also come under the purview of Venus. If you need to sit down and make a budget or do any kind of financial planning, this is a perfect time to do so.

Sunday is a day for sleep, when the Sun makes a square with Neptune. If you partied too hard under the Sagittarius Sun and went home under the influence of Neptune-ruled substances like drugs and alcohol, you might want to have your favorite remedy handy. Or you can just sleep it off.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

Weekly Forecast May 7: Mercury in Taurus, Sun Conjunct Jupiter

Our friendly neighborhood Taurus. © Pat Paquette, 2012.

As of this week, we’ve entered a tense, highly charged period that includes two eclipses, Venus retrograde, a rare transit of Venus across the Sun, and the first exact square of Uranus and Pluto.

In the long-anticipated year of 2012, May and June are the two most volatile months. Indeed, it’s hard to predict much of anything, least of all what we want and need. You may think you want one thing or that you should go in a certain direction, only to change your mind ten minutes later. People with major fixed sign signatures (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius) could have a particularly tough time, as we don’t adapt as easily as others to the constantly changing landscape. Regardless of your sign, clarity and stability are going to be rare commodities between now and the end of June.

I’m not telling you this to add to your stress level, but to help you prepare to the extent possible and to know that if you feel more than the usual amount of stress in your life over the next seven to eight weeks, you’re not alone.

We begin the week in the wake of Saturday’s Scorpio Full Moon. Joe left a comment on my previous post that perfectly expresses that Full Moon’s heavy energy, well articulated by a Scorpio. My own experience was hair-raising, too. Within an hour of the peak of the Full Moon, I had a horrendous “past life” vision, yet another reminder that higher consciousness falls into that “careful what you wish for” category, along with karmic connections. Obviously, to heal from this kind of trauma, we have to start with an awareness of the circumstances or events that caused it. While lying in bed last night with the light of the Full Moon streaming through my window, I thought yet again about the practical necessity for the brain to put up barriers to accessing other dimensions and the disruption of a planetary wide awakening.

On Tuesday (late Monday on the West Coast of the United States), Mars forms an edgy quincunx to Uranus. This is the third and final inconjunct between Mars and Uranus in this cycle. The first was in mid-November. The second occurred on March 31, while Mars was retrograde. I’m definitely ready to be done with this one. The external hard drive with all of my footage for film school has been performing badly since late March, and last Thursday it was so slow I wanted to tear my hair out. Fortunately, I got it in to the computer emergency room to save what’s recoverable before it crashed. But my work is stopped until I get a new one, which has to be special-ordered. As it is, I’m almost three weeks behind in major deadlines. Being an astrologer doesn’t give you any special immunity.

Mercury enters Taurus on Wednesday, which means that instead of mutual reception with Mars, he’ll be in this special relationship with Venus, who’s slowing down to turn retrograde early next week. I swear, this year has been like one long Mercury retrograde. Do I have to tell everyone to back up their computer data? I’d also suggest taking special precautions with valuables such as watches and jewelry. Mercury sextiles Neptune on Thursday, which is one of the sweeter aspects of the week. Our heads may be too muddled for good judgment, but our dreams are in sharp focus.

Pluto sextiles Chiron on Saturday, which continues themes of healing brought up by the Scorpio Full Moon. The reason healing takes so much courage – and why everyone doesn’t just dive right in – is that it can be tremendously painful. If you’re really having a tough time, I recommend seeing a qualified medical astrologer or an alternative practitioner who is skilled with healing very old wounds, including trauma from other incarnations. Be brave, and know that you’ll not only survive but come out of it transformed.

Optimism and good cheer return for a short while on Sunday, with the conjunction of the Sun and Jupiter in Taurus. This is a lovely aspect for Mother’s Day with family, friends, good food and good spirits, and lots of gratitude.

To learn more about May’s planetary movements, I highly recommend the monthly forecast by Rick Levine and Jeff Jawer. They make a convivial evening presentation in Redmond on the first Wednesday of every month. I finally got a chance to go check it out – it was brilliant. Fortunately, they film the entire talk, so you can access it at your convenience, without getting out of your chair.

Wishing you all much love and courage to all,
Pat

Weekly Forecast February 20: New Moon in Pisces

Twice this past week, I worked so late in the editing room that I missed the last bus home. That meant walking a mile up a steep hill at midnight, in the rain, dragging a pack full of books.

As I struggled to put one foot in front of the other and keep going, it occurred to me that this was a good image for the astrological period we’re moving through, which won’t end until Mars returns direct on April 13. Saturn will still be retrograde, which will have its own set of issues, but at least we won’t feel so dragged down, demoralized, and obstructed.

That said, it does appear that some good is coming out of the combined retrogrades of Mars and Saturn, with the latter in the relationship-oriented sign of Libra. Saturn turned retrograde two weeks ago and has been sitting at 29 degrees Libra, where he’ll remain until March 4. By the time an outer planet has reached the last degree of a sign, we’re ready to move on to the next lesson. But there’s still something we have to learn about commitment in relationships and maintaining inner balance while interacting closely with others.

Conflict is a natural part of any relationship, but Libra seeks to avoid it in an attempt to “keep the peace.” Under retrograde Mars, with the help of Venus in Mars-ruled Aries, conflicts are being provoked that ultimately will help restore the balance in circumstances that have been out of equilibrium for too long, often due to those attempts at keeping the peace. If you’ve been embroiled in conflict for the past week or two, take heart. Events are unfolding to help you move past it and find higher ground. But you will have to do a lot of heavy lifting. You can’t expect that the other person will make all the concessions. At the same time, you can’t be the one who caves and gives up everything just to avoid more conflict. In fact, you’ll just be deferring it.

The other conflict-averse sign of the zodiac is Pisces, but for different reasons. Whereas Libra strives for harmony and balance, Pisces seeks oneness through dissolution of boundaries. However, confusion can be the result, as Pisces is a psychic sponge for everyone else’s thoughts and feelings. As a result, she may not have a strong sense of self, and she needs time to figure out what she really thinks and how she feels. That makes it hard to stand up for herself in a conflict, so she tends to avoid it. (Please remember than when I talk about the signs, I’m referring not only to the Sun sign, but anyone with that particular energy dominant in their chart. It may be your Moon or Rising sign, or a stellium of planets in a particular house or sign. The only way to know for sure which energies are dominant in your chart is to consult with a professional astrologer.)

So, that’s the heavy news for this week. The good news is that we have a lovely Pisces Moon on Tuesday conjunct Neptune and Chiron and sextile Jupiter. Neptune is the modern ruler of Pisces, traditionally ruled by Jupiter. So it’s significant that this New Moon aspects both planets. This is the first time in hundreds of years, by the way, that we’ve had a New Moon in Pisces conjunct Neptune. The last time it happened, Neptune hadn’t even been discovered.

Click on image to enlarge

Neptune rules sleep, dreams, the deep psyche, the collective unconscious, past-life memories. There is magic here, and yet there are pitfalls. We’re in an area where lines are blurred, and we can be tricked into thinking we see something that’s not there. Dreams become illusions or delusions. This is where Truth is a moving target.

Pisces also is the sign of empathy and compassion. With the New Moon conjunct Chiron, the wounded healer, we can have greater compassion for our own wounds and, thus, for those of others. Only when we accept our own flaws and weaknesses can we accept them in others and make a heart-centered connection.

Before leaving Pisces on Thursday, the Moon conjoins Mercury as the latter is about to oppose Mars. This is likely to be a difficult day, but there may be room for the kind of dialogue I described above. Just be advised that it could be painful. Getting through it may require struggling to put one foot in front of the other, in the dark, until you get to the top of the hill.

Saturday’s Sun-Jupiter sextile is much happier. Blow off steam from a tough week by going out to a special breakfast with friends and family. Or, you may just want to sleep in and have coffee in bed.

Speaking of bed, I’ll repeat last week’s recommendation to keep a dream journal with you. I’m hearing many reports of vivid, weird, and otherwise unusual dreams. Write them down now so that you can decode them later.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

Chiron in Pisces: The Healing Power of Self-Pity, Part II

In Part I of this article, Ruth discussed coming to terms with our suffering under Chiron in Pisces. In the second and final installment, she talks about how to get through the suffering to a place of healing. ~Pat

Chiron instructs young Achilles, Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples.

Another attribute of Chiron in Pisces is that we may find ourselves needing stronger boundaries than ever before. As our capacity for compassion increases, we will naturally attract needy people who want to tell us all their problems. If we don’t have firm boundaries in place, we can find ourselves quickly feeling drained while all those around us feel better. Don’t fall for the old Piscean trap of trying to fix everybody else. It’s not your job. It is each individual’s job to heal themselves.

Another reason why you will need strong boundaries is that you might feel a very strong urge to withdraw from people and spend more time in solitude. This is natural and vitally important, because it creates the time and space that you need in order to go within and listen to your inner voice.

When Chiron is in Pisces, it is important to avoid the temptation for escapism through alcohol, drugs, TV, movies, anything to distract us, make us go numb and avoid having to face the pain and suffering we are experiencing on the inside. This only puts off the inevitable and makes matters worse. When your inner self is crying for your attention and you ignore it, you are abandoning yourself. This adds to your sense of disconnectedness, isolation, and suffering.

What Chiron in Pisces is trying to show you is that when you take the time to be fully present with yourself, the sense of fear and isolation lessens. You can begin to touch that deeper, compassionate part inside you and actually feel nurtured by being with your own loving presence. If you have no experience of meditation and/or therapy, it might be time you took a spiritual teacher or hired a coach or counsellor. This Chiron transit invites you to give your inner world your highest and best attention.

Remember, in the Buddha’s lesson there were four noble truths. After the first truth of suffering comes the second truth, that suffering has causes; the third truth, that it can end; and the fourth truth, that there is a method, or way, to that end. That way is your inner journey, your own presence. You can find it by following a spiritual path, through personal development, or therapy. Any method that allows you to go deeper on your inner journey will eventually lead you there.

With practice, you may even learn to welcome self-pity when it comes knocking. If you are experiencing self-pity, think of it as a spiritual wake-up call. You are trying to get your attention. It is time to strengthen those boundaries and enjoy more solitude. Sitting with yourself, accepting, acknowledging and embracing the truth of your own pain and suffering, is not the number one choice of entertainment for a fun Saturday night, but you will find the experience nurturing and potentially very healing.

Ruth

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Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website. You can also request a FREE mp3 download, “The Energetics of Soul Astrology.”

Chiron in Pisces: The Healing Power of Self-Pity, Part I

In today’s post, Ruth writes about Chiron in Pisces from the viewpoint of soul astrology. I’m trying to work up a good dose of self-pity but I’m tired and have a headache. ~ Pat

Chiron instructs young Achilles, Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples.

Chiron, affectionately known as “the wounded healer,” went into Pisces on February 8 and will be here until April 2018, so we’d better get used to it!

One of the attributes that we might notice with this transit is a tendency towards self-pity. This is often seen in a negative light, but I believe there is a spiritual reason why we experience this. It is our inner self trying to get our attention, calling us within to pay more attention to our Self and our inner journey.

If we have the courage to look our self-pity in the eye, there is an amazing potential for healing and growth to be gained from this pity-party. When we keep dipping our toe in and out again, not allowing the full tsunami of sorrow to affect us, we are only playing a game of psychological “Hokey-Cokey,” which can keep us stuck wallowing in and out of negativity and depressive thinking for years.

The first lesson the Buddha taught after his enlightenment was “The Four Noble Truths.” These are the founding tenets of Buddhism, and the first noble truth is the truth of suffering.

When Chiron is in Pisces, we become acutely attuned to the first noble truth, the truth of suffering. Suffering is real. We deepen our humanity, humility, and increase our capacity for compassion when we finally surrender to the call of Chiron in Pisces and acknowledge the truth of our own suffering first. Life is hard. When we finally acknowledge the truth of our own suffering and struggle, something changes. We can finally let go. We cannot be with others’ pain and suffering until we have met our own.

This is an opportunity for spiritual transformation, to transform “painful” states of mind. Normally we don’t think of ourselves as “suffering,” unless we are in acute physical or deep emotional pain. But according to Buddhist teaching, our everyday lives are low-level forms of suffering. On a daily basis, we experience painful states of mind such as anger, jealousy, anxiety, stress, fear and sadness. We accept these as normal, but they are actually suffering states. Acknowledging this is to face the truth of our own suffering.

When Chiron is in Pisces, we might suddenly find ourselves wallowing in self-pity. This is an attempt by our psyche to get our attention. You are requesting an audience with yourself. However, in this busy, chaotic world we live in, unless we have some regular practice such as meditation, few of us have the ability to really sit and be with ourselves. To be fully present, with a depth of care and attention, that can be healing. This is why many of us go to therapy – to simply learn to be with our own wounds.

In Part II, we’ll look at the need for boundaries while Chiron is in Pisces.

Ruth

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Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website. You can also request a FREE mp3 download, “The Energetics of Soul Astrology.”

Weekly Forecast February 7: Chiron Enters Pisces, Venus Conjunct Pluto

Puget Sound in late January. © Pat Paquette, 2011.

Chiron moves into Pisces this week, launching us into a decade of deep healing on a soul level.

Chiron is peculiar celestial body, a planetoid in a class of objects discovered in the 1970s that eventually were called “centaurs.” In the beginning, no one knew what they were. Sometimes they behaved like comets, other times they were more like asteroids. Thus the name of the mythological half-man, half-horse.

In Greek mythology, Chiron became a powerful healer as a result of his tortured past. Astrologers often refer to him as the Wounded Healer and, as far as we’re concerned, it’s no coincidence that alternative medicine began to blossom in the West right around the time of his discovery.

Chiron also is special in that he has an erratic orbit. At his closest to the Sun, he is just inside the orbit of Saturn. At his farthest, he orbits just beyond Uranus. His path is highly symbolic, as he travels between the last of the planets visible on earth and the first of the outer planets that can’t be seen without a telescope. He is therefore seen as a sort of “bridge” between the known and the unknown, what can be seen and what is hidden. Astronomers believe he may have originated in the Kuiper Belt, a region beyond Neptune.

Chiron ventured into Pisces last spring, then went retrograde and returned to Aquarius in July. When he returns to Pisces this Tuesday, he’ll remain there until February 2019.

In many ways, Chiron in Pisces won’t be new. I say that because he has been tracking for the past several years with Neptune, the planetary ruler of Pisces. I see Chiron’s movement into Pisces territory as the next step in the collective healing begun under the Neptune-Chiron conjunction, about which I have written quite a bit.

Neptune and Pisces are associated with the deep psyche, the collective unconscious, and the mind of God. Like Cancer and Scorpio, Pisces is a water sign, but it has no “container.” There are no boundaries. It is where illusions of separateness disappear and we become one with the All, manifest and unmanifest. As a result, we’re in vague and constantly shifting territory – if you can even call it that. It defies description and can only be sensed through feelings and images. Of course, that’s what makes it such a dangerous place, and it’s why many people lose their sanity if they hang out there too long.

The last time Chiron was in Pisces, from 1960 to 1969, a whole generation turned on, tuned in, and dropped out. For many, using psychedelic drugs brought about a level of awareness they might never have achieved without the pharmacological aid. Of course, they many had bad trips, too.

This time around, we’ll be able to reach those levels of awareness without the use of drugs. It’s likely we’ll see the rise of new forms of psychic and spiritual healing that bring about deep shifts in awareness, allowing us to integrate the parts of ourselves that we’ve closed off. These processes can be painful. Like Pluto, Chiron represents releasing and healing, but first you have to dig into the old wounds and dredge up a lot of messy feelings.

Then, perhaps new techniques in the next ten years will find a way to circumvent these difficult processes and heal instantly. Sounds kind of far-fetched, but why not? In the beginning, few believed alternative medicine would work, either. Perhaps these new spiritual healing techniques even will replace psychiatry and an over-reliance on psychoactive drugs.

Maybe we’ll also see new generations of drugs that are gentler and don’t have so many unwanted side effects. That could end up being a double-edged sword, however. Once Neptune enters Pisces next year, we will be in murky psycho-spiritual territory where it’s difficult to tell the difference between reality and illusion. Mass escapism through drugs and other addictions may become too tempting to resist. Rather than waking up, many people may tune out completely.

Whatever comes to pass, we are on a crash course in healing, and Chiron in Pisces is a major indicator that human consciousness is about to play a part once again in socio-political movements.

Back to this week, there are only two other days I want to alert you to. First, the Moon on Monday zips through the early degrees of Aries, possibly triggering events related to the 2010 cardinal T-square and its 2011 sequel, which hasn’t happened yet. Be on the lookout for clues and perhaps even concrete developments related to those larger trends. You should know by now where it’s hitting your chart.

Also, Venus conjoins Pluto on Wednesday. This is supposed to be one of the passionate, sexy aspects, but I don’t see it in this pairing, unless you’re into bondage. It may relate to the other kind of bonds, though. Pluto is about money and power, and Venus is associated with finances, especially in Capricorn.

Still another possibility is that many of you will become more aware of the karmic bonds between you and another person. These ties sometimes feel more like handcuffs or chains. This is one area I didn’t mention above in my interpretation of Chiron in Pisces, but it’s something I’ll explore more in future posts. As more people open up to higher dimensions of reality, we’ll be more aware of “other-life” connections. Severing those ties may be necessary to heal age-old wounds, and there’s no doubt it will be a painful process.

Moon in Taurus from Wednesday through Friday brings us a brief respite, topped with chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and a cherry. The weekend’s Gemini Moon is sociable and light-hearted, especially on Sunday. Make a date for brunch with friends or siblings.

Wishing you all love, courage, and deep healing,
Pat

P.S. This is just a reminder that I’m on hiatus for a while so that I can catch up with my backlog of client work. I’ll continue to write the weekly forecast and will publish guest posts periodically. If you want to get posts as they’re published, I suggest subscribing to my feed.

Saturday Extra!Heard on the Street

I heard the most amazing story yesterday, and I want to share it with you, both as inspiration and as an illustration of the kind of healing I believe is taking place in these astrologically potent times.

An older couple, I’d say in their late 50s, married many years ago and after four years of marriage and one child, got a divorce. They both went their separate ways. She stayed in the Pacific Northwest, while he traveled the world, made a fortune, married again, and bought a palatial home in an idyllic tropical location. But they remained on friendly terms and stayed in touch over the years.

Last year, his wife got cancer, and he spent many months caring for her and watching her die. He was devastated, and his life felt meaningless. Old illnesses began to plague him. His ex-wife, who was dating another man, nevertheless helped him through at every step of the way.

Earlier this year, her family was getting together for a reunion. He happened to be in the area, transporting his wife’s belongings to their children. He stopped by, and the flame reignited. As it so happened, her boyfriend had been killed in an accident, and she was now single and available again.

They are more in love than ever. Their eyes went from sparkling for each other to wet with tears as they recounted all the seemingly bizarre coincidences that brought them back together. She is going to move to his home, where he is planning to build a studio for her to explore her artistic talent. Their wedding will be at a secret, sacred spot. With his health much improved, he is going to retire and work on creative projects as well. I suspect they also will be taking long walks hand-in-hand on the beach, watching the sun set.

What amazed me all the more was that this man, while not a corporate type, was a what-you-see-is-what-you get type. He obviously has some psychic powers and was aware of them at an early age, but his career was in traditional fields for men.

I believe we are going to hear more and more stories like this in the next few years. With Jupiter, Chiron, and Neptune in conjunction, deep healing of old wounds is taking place, and this includes rifts between men and women. I’ve written often that the separation between the divine feminine and divine masculine is one of the most critical wounds that beings on the earth plane have suffered, and healing it will have widespread implications for all of us. Other aspects are producing a synergistic effect, including the mutual reception between Uranus and Neptune and the opposition between Saturn and Uranus.

If any of you have stories to tell about deep healing, I’d love to hear them. Unfortunately, I can’t share my own very private story in these pages, but I can tell you that it is big, and it goes to my very core.

Much love and many blessings to all,
Pat

Image: Tristan and Isolde, by Edmond Blair Leighton, 1902. The source of this tragic love story is very old, and the tale holds clues about the ancient wound that separated the divine feminine and masculine.

Full Moon in Capricorn, Lunar Eclipse, July 7, 2009

Lunar Eclipse over Norway The essence of any Full Moon is the opposition – two signs in compatible elements and on opposite sides of the zodiac. On this Full Moon, the Sun is in watery Cancer opposing the Moon in the feminine earth sign of Capricorn, drawing attention to the need to balance what nurtures us with our public life.

For some reason Capricorn has become associated with the need for dominance and competition, especially in the professional arena. But there is another side to this pragmatic sign, much deeper and wilder and intensely creative. There is an earthy, passionate sensuality with the ability to throw aside constraints and abandon oneself to the pursuit of pleasure beneath the conventional, pin-striped suits. If you are familiar with the many faces of David Bowie, he is a great example of this complex sign.

Just as Capricorn is more than a stuffed shirt, so is Cancer more than a moody homebody. Cancer hides many treasures behind its protective shell, often including a sharp sense of humor as well as a sensitive soul. Capricorn is clearly a cardinal sign but so is Cancer. If you have friends and family with a strong Cancer signature, pay attention to how persistent they can be in getting their way.

For those of us like myself who have planets or angles at 14-17° in Aries, Cancer, Libra, or Capricorn, the extra punch of the lunar eclipse will zap us awake! Check to see where the Cancer-Capricorn axis falls in your chart and take note of events both leading up to this lunation as well as the weeks following it. Eclipses have a broader impact than most lunations.

Saturn in Virgo plays a supporting role to the Sun and Moon, because it is trine to the Moon and sextile the Sun. We could miss the importance of this support because of the flowing nature of those aspects, so pay attention to any opportunities offering advancement. Saturn is playing nice right now and suggesting rather than demanding. The next Saturn-Uranus opposition on September 15 will be far less kind.

Venus has moved into Gemini and is pulling away from Mars, who is still in Taurus. However, she is not a happy camper, because Pluto in Capricorn is holding her accountable via an inconjunct. This is another lesson in learning what we truly value. Pluto is not about to let up on teaching everyone about living a frugal lifestyle. Think Bernie Madoff settling into his new accommodations for the rest of his life.

But it is Mars in practical, well-grounded Taurus squaring Neptune & Co. that could bring people sharply down to earth once more. There are many folktales teaching the importance of making sure a good, solid foundation is in place before building. If there is a weak point (Chiron) we ignored in the pursuit of our dreams (Jupiter-Neptune), it has either already brought the house of cards down or will soon. Now is a good time to take advantage of the clarity offered by this square and the supportive sextile between Mars and Uranus in Pisces, to repair and rebuild. If the new foundation is done right, there is a much greater chance of achieving your hopes and dreams.

There is no fire in this chart. The preponderance is strongly in earth and water, with just a small leavening of air. Using confrontational tactics and throwing out demands will not be as effective as spending time listening closely to what others are saying. The Sabian symbol for the Sun at 16 Cancer, A man studying a mandala in front of him, with the help of a very ancient book, with the keyword CONCENTRATION, supports this notion.

For the Moon at 16 Capricorn, the Sabian symbol reminds us to take time to play well with others: School grounds filled with boys and girls in gymnasium suits. The keyword is EXERCISE. Take a walk with friends in the park to regroup before heading back to the drawing board.

If there ever was a time for identifying and clearing out emotional baggage, this lunar eclipse is it. Shine a light into all the hidden corners of your psyche and haul out the garbage to throw away. If you have a favorite cleansing ritual, use it extensively. We are halfway through the period between the first New Moon in Cancer and the second one, a solar eclipse, on July 21-22. Saturn is in a great position now to help with this project, too.

Please remember to be kind to yourself and especially to your nearest and dearest, as those are the folks we most often take out our angst on. These are tough times for many people, and it is by paying kindness ahead that we can all benefit.

Many blessings and good wishes to all.

posted by Neith . . .

**Please read Pat’s weekly forecast for this week, July 6, for her thoughts this week’s eclipse.

Image: This beautiful photo was taken by Andreas D. Skjervold, Bodø, Norway on Aug. 16, 2008. It is one of several wonderful photos of eclipses at The Eclipse Photo Gallery website.

Ask Real Astrologers: Did I Miss the Career On-Ramp?

This week’s question comes from Stan in California:

My finances are shot, I’m collecting unemployment, and I have no interest in getting my license to start my own private practice in clinical psychology, as I have “burned out” on being a clinician. I want to make a shift to academia for the intellectual stimulation and challenge and be in a place where I can teach. I know I have the ability and experience and that I need to refresh my knowledge base. Yet, in the last six months, I don’t feel like I’ve done enough, read enough, or retained enough to feel to feel as knowledgeable and as confident in an interview as I felt when in grad school. All I know is that I don’t feel like I’m making progress. Have I missed a sign post and thus headed in the wrong direction? I feel that there are some positive energies in play, yet I don’t feel that I have been able work with them. What am I missing?

Pat’s response:

Stan, first let me say hello to a fellow Aquarius/Rising Aquarius! Second, I can tell you that your natal chart indicates an innate talent for psychology, and you can have a powerfully transformational effect on your clients. In fact, you might even be a little scary for some people, as you can see deeply into their psyche.

This also means, however, that you can burn out easily, as you may have difficulty keeping your own psychic boundaries intact. I would say, off the top of my head, that your best solution is daily physical exercise. This will help you blow off the psychic clutter than you pick up from confused and wounded people.

If you’ve seen your chart, you may know that the rare conjunction of Jupiter, Chiron, and Neptune is taking place right on your Ascendant. This alignment is opening doors on deep healing. As you probably know from your work, this can be a painful process, and in your case, it is going to continue for the rest of the year. I don’t think you will be able to see your way clearly until this process is over. By next January, you will have a much better idea of your direction, and you’ll also have Jupiter in your first house to help you find great opportunities for advancement.

Aquarius is the sign of the future, and many of us are ahead of our time. I believe that your unique role will be in finding new perspectives on human psychology that will help heal humanity, starting with yourself. One of the topics I’ve written about extensively is the wound between male and female energies on the planet. You have a close conjunction of Venus and Mars in your first house, and Uranus (your ruler) currently is transiting these planets. Uranus is the Awakener, so I believe that you will be awakened to the dual nature of this energy in everyone, and this new information somehow will be of great use to you in your practice.

The very best of luck to you, and thanks for writing!

Neith’s response:

Stan, as Pat noted Jupiter-Chiron and Neptune have just crossed your Ascendant and are now in your first house. The other transiting planet in your first house is Uranus in Pisces, currently stationing at 26? Pisces preparing to come back over your natal Mars-Venus conjunction. This is a great deal of activity in your first house stressing the possibility of doing a major overhaul of your image among other things.

Your natal Mars-Venus conjunction is also the tip of a Yod, or Finger of God, with Pluto in Leo in your sixth house sextile the Saturn-Neptune conjunction in Libra in your eighth. This pattern pulls together the elements that make you an excellent psychologist from compassionate Pisces to transformative Pluto and to have Uranus about to make its second pass over the tip, it makes complete sense to me you feel the need for change. The third and final pass will come during the first three months of 2010.

It is likely Neptune crossing your Ascendant has obscured matters because Neptune is extremely good at that. My recommendation would be to see if you can sort through the mish mash of expectations, both yours and those of others, over the next few months and see if you can work with those that put you, the nurturer, first. This is all part of an ongoing theme in your chart where Neptune and Uranus are pulling you in different directions. I’m sure you are familiar with the concept of nurturing the nurturer but this is my sense of what’s needed now.

Perhaps when Jupiter moves back into your twelfth house at the end of July and reduces the cacophony in your first house, it will be easier to find your sign post. Jupiter is pretty darn loud at times.

Best of luck in finding your way into academia!

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Saturday Extra! The Big Wait-and-See

As I sit down to write this morning, the Moon is exactly conjunct Chiron and Neptune at 26 degrees Aquarius and moving toward conjunction with Jupiter. The feeling that “something big” is happening is very strong.

I’ve heard these words from several of my “plugged in” friends, and I’ve certainly had the feeling myself. Jupiter, of course, is Mr. Big, and he’s about to turn retrograde. Neptune and Chiron recently went into “reverse,” too, so we’re in a powerful time.

I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but the healing potential in the Jupiter-Chiron-Neptune conjunction has been huge, and when we heal from the inside out, we begin to see corresponding changes in our external world. Bigger still, as more of us heal individually, we correct imbalances in the collective, and that makes our world a better place.

The only caution is that many people are just opening to this potential, and while they’re going through the initial shift, they are in internal chaos. If more people are at this level of consciousness, then I think the world could descend into extreme chaos before balance is restored. I have no idea what the numbers are.

What I’ve also observed is that people who are just opening up to this healing power initially resist. They either don’t trust it, or it feels scary and ominous. Sort of like a dog must feel going to the vet. He doesn’t know that it’s going to help him feel better. He just knows that the last time he went into that building, somebody did something to him that hurt, and his dog brain never put two and two together (there are lots of days when I feel like I have a dog brain!).

So this is a big wait-and-see. Unfortunately I’m not able to reveal any details here about what’s happening with me, but there is no doubt that it is really big. My life is changing. If any of you are observing shifts in your own lives or in the lives of those around you, please leave a comment.

Love and blessings to all,
Pat

Image: Is it real or is it La-La Land? This furniture arrangement, called “Phantasy Landscape,” was designed by Verner Panton of Denmark for the National Museum of Singapore. Photo by Wong Maye-E for The Associated Press.

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